


Highlights of College

by lunarlychallenged



Category: Mean Girls - Richmond/Benjamin/Fey
Genre: College, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-11 05:39:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15308661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarlychallenged/pseuds/lunarlychallenged
Summary: It was nice to find out that college was nothing like high school.  It didn't hurt to find out that perfect people, like Aaron Samuels, existed.





	Highlights of College

Highlights of College #1: The Destruction of High School Stereotypes

 

You walked from table to table, looking at the different clubs and teams your university had to offer. There was everything from Star Wars clubs to acapella; from a squirrel watching club to intramural basketball teams. You stopped at a couple of different tables, but tried to make sure that you paused there when there was nobody to talk you into signing up.

You were standing in line to get food when the boy in front of you turned around and smiled. “Have you signed up for anything yet?”

“Nah,” you said. “I’m just looking. Have you?”

“I’m here representing a club, actually,” he said. He had a nice smile; it made you want to smile back. “Are you looking for anything specific?”

You nodded at the line leading to a table of food. The boy had just reached it, so he was grabbing silverware and some extras for you. “They shut down the cafeteria so we would come here for food.” You felt a rush of pride when he smiled. “Honestly, I don’t want to join a club. Classes are more than enough for me.”

“That makes a lot of sense,” he agreed. “First year?”

“Yep. You?”

“Second year Physics major,” he said. He didn’t sound proud, but your eyebrows shot up.

“Yikes.” There were plenty of challenging college majors. Others were highly specialized, therefore hard for you to imagine choosing. But physics - woof.

He raised an imaginary glass. “Cheers to that.” At the end of the line, he smiled at you. “It was nice to meet you -”

“Y/N,” you informed him. “Nice to meet you too.”

“Aaron Samuels.”

He was backing into the crowd of students again, but something occurred to you. “Hey, Aaron? You never said what club you were on.”

“Intramural soccer team,” he called back. “Feel free to stop by!”

You did not stop by his table. You did, however, sit a ways away from his table so you could watch him talk to people. Aaron Samuels was cute. Really, really cute. 

You had never been able to see the appeal of movies where a brainless jock was supposed to be the major hottie. You could appreciate a cute boy as much as the next person, but why settle for somebody okay when there were great people out there?

A soccer playing physicist, for example, held more of an appeal.

 

 

Highlights of College #2: Making Friends in Class

 

You showed up to the first meeting of your history class twenty minutes early so you could get a seat near the front. You weren’t sure about the validity of that saying that the closer you were to the front, the better you did in the class, but it seemed worth a shot.

You hoped that nobody would sit by you. The seats were too close together. There had to be over 200 seats in the room. Maybe the class would be small enough that you would have a gap on either side. When somebody asked you if the seat next to you was taken, you had to suppress a sigh.

You looked up at the person to say that it was open, but the words caught in your throat. “Aaron Samuels?”

He blinked down at you for a second, but his eyes brightened. “Hey! Fancy meeting you here.”

You fought back a crooked grin while you watched him search for your name. “Sure, you can sit here. I’m Y/N, by the way.”

He smiled sheepishly. “Sorry. I met a lot of people.”

You waved him off. “Don’t worry. I’d have forgotten your name in another day or two.” Not so likely. Cute boys had a habit of staying in your head for much longer than they needed to.

The professor, in what you would learn was the college way, decided that the first lesson only had to go for about a half hour. You packed up, considering getting an early lunch, when Aaron floored you with another smile. 

“Y/N, do you want to trade numbers? In case we need each other’s notes or something.”

“Sure,” you said. You told yourself that it was totally normal, that lots of students probably traded contact info in case of emergencies, but you still felt a little giddy about having a cute boy’s number. 

“You know,” he said slowly. “Maybe we could study together when it gets closer to midterms.”

“That would be awesome! We can talk later.” When you left, you couldn’t think of a single problem with the day. Best case scenario, Aaron would continue to be cute and nice and you would marry him someday. You were getting ahead of yourself, but there was nothing else to do. You were in a college where you didn’t know anybody. You had no friends to distract you, and there were no events to look forward to. All you had was a nice boy, and now you had his number. In a way, that meant that the worst case scenario was having a friend.

Either one would be nice.

 

 

Highlights of College #3: Parties

 

Foot. In. Shoe.

Nope, you missed. You snorted a laugh when you tried to shove your foot into your boot again, but missed the hole.

“Christ,” Melanie laughed. “You’re hammered.”

“Nope. ‘M just having fun.” You triumphantly raised the boot, now with your foot inside. “Could a drunk person do this?”

“Apparently,” she muttered. “Y/N, why don’t you stay for a while longer? We’ll be ready to leave soon.”

“‘M goin’ home,” you said. You were done at the party. You drank, you danced, you laughed. Now you were tired, and you thought that maybe you wanted to eat every single poptart in your dorm room. It was just a gut feeling.

“No,” she said firmly. “You can’t walk back alone.” She was buzzed, but she seemed a little crisper than you felt. You were definitely blurry around the edges.

“I don’t want to be here,” you said. 

This was an impasse. Your friends weren’t ready to leave. You refused to stay. It wouldn’t be bad for either of you to change your mind, but nobody wanted to. Finally she sighed, and you thought she was going to give in.

“Y/N! Hey!” Aaron clapped a hand on your shoulder. “Having fun?”

“I’m going home,” you said simply. You hadn’t even wanted to come to this party. Melanie had been ragging on you about coming, and Aaron had mentioned that he would be here, so you came. Aaron had waved at you from across the room, but hadn’t talked to you until now. This was the high point of your night.

“You aren’t,” Melanie interjected. She rolled her eyes at Aaron. “I’m not letting Y/N walk home alone.”

“And I’m not letting you walk me home not alone,” you said. Nice. Point one for Y/N.

Aaron looked at you thoughtfully. “I’m getting ready to head out. Can I walk you home not alone?”

“Friggin’ yes.” You grinned. “Let’s blow this popsicle stand.”

A few minutes later, Aaron was walking you across campus. “What building are you in?”

“Baker.”

“Really? Me too. That works out nicely.”

“I’ll bet you work out nicely,” you said. God, you were on your game. He was going to be in love with you by the end of the night.

He laughed. “What?”

“‘Cause you’re cute.”

“Thanks,” he said. He ran his hands through his hair, letting it fall in his eyes. “There’s something weirdly cute about drunk you too, I guess.”

You grinned. “Thanks, dude.” 

He walked you to your room, shooting you a wry grin while you fumbled to get your key into the lock. “Text me when you wake up. I know we’re supposed to study tomorrow, but let me know if you don’t feel up to it.”

“It’s a date,” you said. 

 

 

Highlights of College #4: Cram Sessions

 

“Oh my God,” you groaned.

Aaron grinned. “I know.”

“I’m the worst.”

“You were definitely something,” he said.

“Did I seriously tell you that you work out nicely?” You’re headache was pretty manageable, all things considered, but you wished that the hangover had killed you. You wished that you had blacked out. That would be better than remembering everything you had said the night before.

“Because I’m cute,” he agreed.

“I want to die,” you said.

“It was funny,” he protested. “Really, it was great. If only I had thought to Instagram it,” he added sarcastically. 

“Were people really doing that?”

“Oh, yeah. There was a hashtag for it and everything,” he said.

“Can you show me?”

“How about this,” he said thoughtfully. “We study for a half hour, then I show you the videos.”

“Deal.” The two of you worked through weeks worth of notes about the Rwandan Genocide. He was in charge of summarizing the readings, and you took on the lectures. He was nice to study with. He always looked to you to affirm the points he made, and he was always enthusiastic about telling you what he liked about your work. 

“It’s crazy that we didn’t learn about this stuff in high school,” you commented. “Seems like world history stopped around the time America got going, according to my history classes.”

He snorted. “Not gonna lie, a lot of my classes dulled in comparison to the drama at my school. It’s kind of a blur. I feel like I lived through a war just by graduating. Even that was in question for a while.”

“What kind of stuff happened?”

“That,” he said hurriedly, “is a story for another day. Let’s talk about that killer party, amirite?” The last few words were spoken like a total dudebro. You laughed, and he grinned. He handed you his phone, where his Instagram was full of videos from the party. 

You scrolled through them, laughing when you saw videos of drunken truth or dare and people dancing like nobody was watching.

“Hang on,” he said eagerly. “I think there are some great pictures from when I was in high school.”

You watched him scroll through his old posts, and you noticed a pretty girl in a lot of pictures. “Is that your girlfriend?”

He paused. “She was.” His voice was soft. 

“What happened?” 

“Distance,” he said with a shrug. “Cady and I decided that it was better to part as friends than breakup as enemies.”

You nodded. “That’s cool. Is that why you still have all of those pictures?” You had friends who made entire evenings of cleansing bad exes from social media. 

“I guess. It’s not like deleting the pictures would change how important she was to me then. You can’t just delete the parts of your life that embarrass you, right?”

You liked that. You liked that he was able to end a relationship in a mature way. You liked the idea that maybe he made a social media account to reflect his life instead of trying to make his life to look good on social media.

He set the phone down, clearly done thinking about the party. “Wow, that got heavy. Sorry.”

You snorted, and he looked at you with surprise. “Why would you apologize for saying something interesting? That’s a weird thing to do. Never apologize for acting like a three dimensional person.”

“You’re right,” he said. He smirked. “If I can’t actually be one, I should at least be able to act like one without being embarrassed.”

“Exactly. Now, tell me how the British created the distinction between Hutus and Tutsis.”

 

 

Highlights of College #5: The Stupid Peers

 

The layer of snow coating the campus was thick and heavy, and its growth would not be slowing for a long time. You might have appreciated the sight of it, had you not been outside without a coat.

You might have been able to overlook the lack of a coat, had you been able to find a pair of shoes that weren’t flip flops in your hurry to get outside. You tried to warm them by pulling a foot out of the snow, but it hardly made a difference. You continued all the same, alternating which foot would be exposed to the cold air instead of the frigid ice.

The firemen hadn’t shut off the dorm fire alarm yet, so you could hear it blaring in the distance. 

Your roommate had gone over to some friends that lived on another floor of the building, so you were standing alone. You felt like if you looked at the sky, you would look like you belonged in the Christmas special of a TV show. Not a very good one, apparently, but a TV show nonetheless.

“If I didn’t know better, I would think that you weren’t dressing for a middle-of-the-night fire,” a familiar voice said. You turned around to see Aaron, dressed in tennis shoes, shorts, and a t-shirt.

“You’re giving off the same vibes,” you said with a grin.

“Believe me, I put on a shirt for this.” He gave your feet a pointed look and laughed. They weren’t even visible under the snow. You were buried up to mid-calf. “I wish I could say the same about your shoes.”

“They were all I could find,” you protested. “If somebody is going to set off the fire alarm, I expect a memo. A group text, maybe.”

“If I ever do it, you can expect a carrier pigeon.”

“Back to the real crime here,” you said. “You sleep without a shirt in the middle of winter?” You might be less opposed to it if you saw him shirtless during the winter, but it sounded terrible when you imagined it for yourself.

“You aren’t wearing socks,” he pointed out.

“Those are very different deficiencies.”

“I would rather be shirtless than shoeless out here,” he said. He stood next to you while the firemen checked out what turned out to be a microwave that caught fire after somebody tried to make ramen without putting in water.

The two of you stared at the sky, watching the massive snowflakes swirl around on their suicide fall to the ground. Maybe this was a TV show you would watch, after all.

 

 

Highlights of College #6: Sporting Events

 

You didn’t know much about soccer, but you thought Aaron was pretty good. He had given you a his schedule, so you came to all of his games. You usually left right when it ended, since you weren’t sure what you were supposed to say to him once it ended. He would be hanging out with his teammates afterwards, so what were you supposed to do? 

Say good job, probably. But what about after that, when the two of you just smiled uncomfortably and tried to think of something to say? It sounded like pure torture, so it was better to run. You would just tell him that he was great when you saw him in lecture next week, like always.

Once the game ended - his team won, of course - you stood to leave. The crowd wasn’t thick, so your getaway would be quick.

“Going somewhere, Y/N?” You turned to see Aaron, leaning against the fence in front of the bleachers. He was grinning at you. “Rude to leave without saying goodbye.”

“I just - thought you would be busy I guess,” you said. You found yourself smiling back. “Good game, my dude. Bruh. Broski.”

He laughed. “Thanks. What do you have there?”

You sheepishly held up a sheet of notebook paper. You felt like you had to bring a sign to his games, but you didn’t actually want to splurge on poster board that you never thought he would see.

He took it and read the words aloud. “You did a good kick, A-a-ron.”

You stared at your shoes. “Well, you did.”

His eyes glowed with mirth. “This is awesome. I love the presentation.”

“High art,” you agreed.

“So,” he said with a smug grin, “did I work out nicely?”

You tried not to let your eyes run over his biceps, his calves. You tried not to think about the time he used his shirt to wipe sweat off his face, revealing his perfect abs. You tried, but failed on every count. “Certainly seems like it.”

One of the other players jogged over. “Samuels, we still on for pizza?”

“Definitely. Mark, this is a friend of mine. Y/N, meet Mark.”

Mark stuck out his hand to shake yours. He was tall enough that he hardly had to reach to get his arm over the fence. “Y/N, from history?”

“Yeah,” you said slowly. 

Mark beamed, and Aaron cringed. “Aaron talks about you all the time. Why don’t you come to get food with us?”

“Really?”

“Totally,” he said. He elbowed Aaron in the side, all good cheer. “He talks about you all the time. Usually people bring their ‘friends’ with us, so it’s about time you came.”

Aaron gave a nervous laugh. “Why are you using quotation marks around the word friends? That’s exactly what we are.” To you, he offered an apologetic smile. “Ignore him. He means well, but he doesn’t know the definition of ‘well.’ You should totally come with us, though.”

You smiled. “Okay. I’m in.”

With each player you were introduced to, a knowing smile would cross their face. With each smile, Aaron’s ear went a deeper shade of pink. As the color darkened, the delicious warmth in your chest spread. By the time Aaron walked you back to your dorm, you felt like you were floating. Maybe soccer was better than you had thought.

 

 

Highlights of College #7: Activities Bringing People Together

 

Aaron’s soccer team was hosting a movie night on the lawn to rise money for the team. They were showing Black Panther, so you decided to go see it. Definitely not because Aaron would be there.

Watching the movie was free, but the fundraising came through the concessions stand. Grossly overpriced, but for a good cause. You only felt a little guilty, a little cheated, when you checked out the menu.

Aaron grinned when he looked up from the register. “Y/N! What can I get for you?”

“Popcorn and a Coke,” you said. One of the other guys got to work stuffing the popcorn in a box, so you waited by Aaron. “Do you have to work here the entire night?”

“Nah, I get off at about the halfway point. I’ll probably watch the rest of the movie.”

“Cool, cool.” You took the box and the drink, wondering if it would be weird for you to invite him to sit with you. You never really hung out with him without a reason, but maybe all he was waiting for was an invitation. “Hey, so if -”

He was already taking the order of the next person, so you walked away. You weren’t disappointed, because you hadn’t come for Aaron. Nope. 

“Y/N!” You turned back when he called after you. “Where are you sitting?”

You grinned. “Over by that tree.” You pointed it out. “I’m a single person on a giant blanket, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find me. That is, if you wanted to come sit with me.”

“If that wouldn’t ruin the lawn hog thing you’ve got going, sure.” He beamed at you, and you walked away feeling like you’d won the lottery. Aaron Samuels was going to come sit with you. Fancy that.

You liked to think that you weren’t lying to yourself when you imagined that he liked you. He could probably get with anybody he wanted to you, and you knew it. You weren’t an idiot. Usually.

It just seemed like every time you walked away from him, every time you thought that you had no chance of talking to him, he would come after you. He came to you to study. He offered to walk you home after that party all those months ago. He came to you, and that must mean that he wanted to be near you, right? You had never expected him to stay, but he never failed to come back. Now he called after you when you walked away, and he told you he would come to you when the time came. That had to matter.

You were thoroughly engrossed in the movie when Aaron came up behind you. He plopped down onto the blanket, grinning when you jumped. 

“Are you hungry? I brought candy.” He held out Twizzlers and a bag of M&Ms. You took some of both.

“Now I remember why I invited you over here,” you said. 

“You know you like my company,” he teased. He looked almost vampiric when the only light came from the projector somebody had set up. “Besides, you didn’t invite me until I nudged you toward it.”

“That’s right,” you mused. “I never wanted you over here at all. You’re taking advantage of how polite I am.”

He laughed, slowly rising. “If you feel so strongly, I can just go sit somewhere else.”

You grabbed for his wrist, marvelling at how warm he was. “No, no, as long as you’re here -”

He settled back down on the ground. “If you insist.”

There was a pause as you both realized that you hadn’t let go of his arm. You stared at the point where your skin met his, and he took advantage of the delay by sliding his hand out of your grip and taking your hand in his.

“You glow in the dark,” you blurted. 

“Now you’ll never lose me.” His teeth glinted in the dark. “Not if you don’t want to, anyway.”

“I don’t want to.” The words were high pitched and uncomfortable sounding, so you cleared your throat and tried again. “I’m not interested in losing you. Not yet, anyway. You had better watch your step.”

“So I should ask your permission before doing anything? I already messed that up,” he said. “Can I hold your hand?”

“I’ll allow it.”

“Can I move a little closer?” When you gave a jerky nod, he shifted closer. For a second, you thought he might try to kiss you. You hoped he would, though you wondered if your teeth would feel weird after eating chocolate and other junk. 

Instead of raising a hand to cup your cheek, he brought the arm around your shoulder. You leaned a little closer into his side, sending a silent thank you to the universe for whatever workout routine he followed for soccer. That team deserved every cent they earned tonight, and more.

“Later on,” he whispered, “can I walk you home?”

You smiled. “We live in the same building.”

“To your door, I mean,” he murmured.

“Sure.” After a pause, you decided to meet him halfway. “Can I make a request?”

“Shoot.”

“Can I kiss you at the door?” You waited to feel him freeze, or for him to start laughing. That was doing him an injustice, but he sometimes seemed too good to be true. The stars must have aligned in your favor, since his perfection continued at full capacity.

“You stole the words right out of my mouth,” he said. “Permission granted.”

You settled into his chest. You could see why so many people saw college as the best years of their lives.


End file.
